In-Depth

Spam-Fighting Terminology

A list of terms you should know.

Like any other specialized field, spam-fighting has developed its own terminology. Here’s a quick guide to some of the terms you may encounter when researching anti-spam products.

Bayesian. Bayesian analysis looks at relative word frequencies between good and bad e-mail to determine whether a particular e-mail is most likely spam or not. See the sidebar, “Understanding Bayesian Analysis.”

Blacklist. A list of addresses from which e-mail should never be accepted.

DNSBL. DNS Black List. An automated service that returns a code specifying whether it thinks a particular IP address belongs to a spammer. See the sidebar, “Using DNSBLs.”

False negative. Mail that should have been recognized as spam, but which was delivered as regular e-mail instead.

False positive. Mail that should have been delivered, but which was erroneously recognized as spam. Most users find false positives to be far worse than false negatives.

Ham. E-mail that the user wants to receive (the opposite of spam).

Quarantine. A holding pen for messages, from which they can be deleted or approved for delivery, either by the systems administrator or by an individual user.

Spam. Undesired e-mail of any sort. Sometimes called UCE or Unsolicited Commercial E-mail.

Web beacon. A single pixel linked image in an HTML e-mail. This is invisible to the user, but serves to tell the sender when a piece of mail has been opened.

Whitelist. A list of addresses from which e-mail should always be accepted.

Additional Information on Spam

Outrun the Avalanche
http://mcpmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=362

What's New in Exchange 2003
http://mcpmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=363

Understanding Bayesian Analysis
http://mcpmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=364

Two Services for the Enterprise
http://mcpmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=365

Using DNSBLs
http://mcpmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=366

A Thanks to Hormel
http://mcpmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=367

For more terminology and a catalog of spammers’ tricks for disguising their e-mails, see ActiveState’s “Field Guide to Spam” at www.activestate.com/Products/PureMessage/Field_Guide_to_Spam/?_x=1.

About the Author

Mike Gunderloy, MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, is a former MCP columnist and the author of numerous development books.

Featured

  • Salesforce To Acquire Informatica in $8 Billion Deal

    Salesforce announced on Tuesday it plans to acquire data management firm Informatica for $8 billion.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Microsoft Gives Orgs More Power to 'Tune' AI Agents

    At its Build 2025 conference this week, Microsoft unveiled significant advancements aimed at empowering enterprises to create more sophisticated AI agents.

  • Build 2025: Microsoft Charts Wider Path for AI Agents

    At Build 2025, Microsoft unveiled its strategic vision for the future of AI agents, emphasizing the development of autonomous systems capable of performing complex tasks across various applications.